Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Well, this has definitely been my longest blog-free period since I arrived, by quite a margin. This is due to a number of reasons - firstly, the Christmas break when I was back in England, secondly the fact that since I've got back I barely seem to have time to get unpacked before I have to go off somewhere else again, and thirdly the first two weeks of January when I fell into the deepest funk I've experienced since I came here. New Year blues I suppose, not helped by the chill in the air (which, since my flat has marble floors and no heating, is worse inside than out).

Anyway, the good news is that I've just returned from a trip to Assam and Meghalaya, in the North East of India, which has given me fuel for a good few posts over the next week or so, so I just have to get myself motivated to actually sit down and write. I also treated myself to a Christmas present in the form of a new camera, which is a rather lovely digital SLR. I'm still finding my way around it but the first results will be popping up here shortly.

In the meantime, I am taking a leaf out of my friend Jamie's book and giving myself a list of things I want to do in 2012 (rather late since a month of it has already gone, but never mind). I'll check back here in January 2013 and see how I did. I probably won't hit all of these, but it's the trying that counts.

1. Visit three new states in India. So far, I've made it to Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Karnataka. Not a bad list considering my first visit to India was a little over a year ago! Three seems like a reasonable number to try to fit into my second year.

2. Get to a decent conversational level in Hindi. After my first enthusiastic forays into the language, I have become horrifically lazy of late. Time to dust it off and get talking.

3. Get on stage in Delhi. Doing the Short & Sweet theatre festival made me realise how much I miss acting. Chances to do it here are not exactly as forthcoming as in London, but I've made some connections now so time to dive in.

4. Get organised with my photos. I've recently joined Flickr and made some tentative steps towards creating some albums, but in general I've allowed my photo collection to amass in a big mess on my hard drive. Organisation is my new watchword.

5. Take more photos in Delhi. I've got into the habit of only taking photos when I'm away somewhere, but Delhi offers so many opportunities for photography. I have a dinky little camera bag to go with my new toy, so I have no excuse not to use what's on my doorstep.

6. Trek in the Himalaya. Being in the hills in Meghalaya reminded me quite how city-bound I have become since moving to Delhi. The Himalaya are so close by, it would be criminal to get to the end of 2012 (19 months in India!) without getting up there.

7. Write more fiction.

8. Complete 100 blog posts. I think, given my wildly fluctuating monthly totals, this is a reasonable goal - averaging out at 9 posts per month. Obviously January is an aberration.

9. Learn some Indian cooking.

10. Cook.

11. Get really, really, really organised with my personal paperwork. I say this every year. But this time, I mean it!

12. Make the most of my OU study instead of treating it like a chore.

13. Party like it's the last year in the Mayan calendar.

14. Always have Laphroaig in the house.

15. Get invited to a friend's house at Diwali.

16. Visit the Taj Mahal. It's basically just down the road for crying out loud.

17. Stop getting stressed out over Indian drivers' love affair with their horns.

18. Go on some dates before I forget how.

19. Dance in the monsoon rain.

20. Make proper use of my gym membership.

21. Make a decision as to what I am doing when my contract expires in May 2013...and stick to it!

So, we'll see how I get on. For the moment, watch this space while I make a start on achieving #8...